Fostering economic vitality & celebrating our unique town character
OUR MISSION
Look at us
Now!
Since its founding almost 40 years ago, Benicia Main Street has been tasked to revitalize and maintain Benicia's historic downtown as an authentic and vital destination for both tourists and locals.
Today, the Downtown 10 block district buffered by a picturesque waterfront offers shopping (including art galleries, boutiques, specialty gift stores),
eclectic dining, a thriving music scene, monthly events, public art, California
historical sites and amazing sunsets.
Benicia Main Street also serves as the Visitor Center at the Southern Pacific
Depot. Open 7 days a week, visitors and residents can find maps with the
City's intriguing historical sites along with Benicia branded merchandise and a year round See's Candies fundraising store.
Benicia Main Street is the Downtown Revitalization Project founded in 1987.
It is a Non Profit 501(C)(3). #68-0151710
Main Street promotes economic revitalization within the context of historic preservation, hence, the downtown’s historic architecture is one of its greatest assets. Second, Main Street is administered by a nonprofit organization made up of diverse people throughout the community. Third, it depends on and encourages participation from all sectors of the community, i.e., local government, private citizens, organizations, civic groups, and, of course, businesses and property owners. By setting up committees of volunteers from these various sectors, Main Street builds a consensus into a planning of goals and objectives and provides the work force to implement them.
The Southern Pacific Rail Depot Benicia, CA
What's a Railroad Depot doing on the Waterfront of Benicia?
Take yourself back to 1902, Benicia's waterfront was the hub of regional transportation providing the commercial and economic success for this California city. A ferry system that carried train cars across the Carquinez Strait before resuming a rail journey into Oakland began in 1879. The largest
train ferry in the world, named the Solano was built to make dozens of crossings a day transporting rail cars and passengers from Benicia to Port Costa.
The need for a depot facility became clear with the amount of train cars that were being processed a day. The building was constructed from a standard Southern Pacific design used by rail depots throughout California. An exact duplicate of the Benicia station stands in nearby Danville. The design shows the strong influence of the Craftsman style which was popular from the early 1900's through the 1920's. According to the 1986 historical survey, the Benicia Station was originally constructed in Banta, California in 1897 and then dismantled and reconstructed in Benicia in 1902. It served as the Benicia station until 1930 when the rail bridge was constructed across the Carquinez Strait connecting Benicia with Martinez. The depot was then used primarily as a telegraph station and received an occasional rail freight delivery until 1958, when the last depot agents moved out and the building closed in the 1950s. "The depot is the last remaining building that represents that era in Benicia history," said local historian Peggy Martin at the time. It was deemed a California point of Interest in 1984.
The City of Benicia acquired the building in 1975 and it remain empty until the late 1990's. A Federal Transportation Grant found by Benicia Main Street became available that spurred the
revitalization of the building. A new foundation was built to raise the structure from high tide and local craftsmen refurbished the front part of the building to its former splendor. In 2002, The Depot became the home of Benicia Main Street office and Visitor Center. Open 7 days a week, the public has access to the waiting room and gallery of historic photos from by gone eras.The Main Street staff act as docents with stories of the Depot's history and why the
building is on the water? It contributes to the Downtown Benicia Historic District. It was added to
the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 as Benicia Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot.The Main Street Program was developed in 1978 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation of America’s important architectural resources. Begun as a pilot program in three towns, the National Main Street Center now boasts over 800 participating cities nationwide.
A successful four-point approach to downtown revitalization focusing on creating a total image of a community’s downtown area has been developed. The Main Street Program builds on existing resources, takes a step-by-step approach in its projects and fosters improved community leadership and support on behalf of the downtown for the long term. The Main Street approach to revitalization includes four components which are integrated to create a positive, identifiable image for downtown. They are Organization, Promotions, Design, and Economic Vitality.
Organization: The Main Street Program is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. A full-time office and staff provide the day-to-day management of the downtown and work with the Board of Directors and volunteers to accomplish the goals in the work plan.
Promotions: Building upon the downtown area as a place for activity, Main Street sponsors major community events and retail promotions to draw an abundant amount of people to downtown, providing residents and visitors with a safe, attractive place to shop, work, and play.
Design: Enhancing the visual quality of the downtown, Main Street uses basic design elements in the existing environment, i.e., buildings, signs, window displays, landscaping, streetscapes, street and sidewalk maintenance.
Economic Vitality: Supporting and diversifying the downtown economy, Main Street recruits new stores to balance the retail/service mix, provides one-on-one assistance to existing businesses, and improves downtown’s competitive market position.
●Wine Walks/Beer Crawl held 5 times a year promotes wine/beer tasting inside a First Street business.
●Benicia's Certified Farmers Market, now in its 33nd year, brings fresh produce from local farms, food purveyors and fun every Thursday from April through October. It is the largest independently managed farmers market in Solano County.
●New in 2025 Benicia Waterfront Rocks Weekend This event showcases Benicia's greatest asset the waterfront. 2 days of entertainment, popular beer and wine booths, kids activities, sail boat races, spa pavilion with a backdrop of the Carquinez Strait.
Benicia Main Street produces other popular events that our citizens have come to depend on including the 3rd of July Torchlight Parade, Halloween activities, Holiday Open House, Christmas Parade and Holiday Market. These special events bring the community together to celebrate the small town charm of Benicia.